Chapter 49: Fierce Enemy Ann Benson 

 "Velma's actor substitution? Jenny threw the magazine on the table, "Congratulations, my first national magazine was U.S. Weekly." "

 "Yes, I can't help but admit it, you keep amazeing me. "Generally speaking, Broadway news rarely makes it to national magazines, and we expect it to be a place in the local gossip newspapers in New York at best." The New York Daily News, the New York Post's gossip section, and so on, I didn't expect Us Weekly to pay attention to you, and I guess they noticed the unusual box office boom on Broadway, and those comments about you online. "

 Indeed, in the past month, Jennifer Jefferson's IMDB actress has exploded in popularity, and her discussion board has more posts and more active users than some of the biggest stars, which cannot but be said to be the result of a mystical propaganda strategy. So far, the official news has only been Jenny's full name, and the name Jennifer Jane Jefferson has also brought Jenny the first semi-official pronoun: J.J.J, in addition, there are unsolved mysteries about her resume, education, family life and even age.

 If it was in the 80s of the last century, without the Internet, maybe her fans would be able to digest this love for J.J and continue to live as usual with enthusiasm that no one can understand. But now in 2002, the Internet has entered thousands of households on both sides of the United States, and the culture that used to be niche can now find its own base on the Internet.

 For example, musicals, compared with film and television dramas, it is undoubtedly niche, the way of live performances determines that the threshold for most enthusiasts to get started is very high, some lovers living in small cities often do not have much opportunity to find like-minded exchanges, of course, there is no need to say much about the annual tour, that belongs to what to watch, there is no room for choice, but when they go to Broadway to watch the play, when they have a choice, they can only buy tickets through the drama reviews in doubt.

 But now with the Internet, everything is different, and fans can build virtual friendships that are no less than real relationships through online social networking, and they can tumble back and forth through discussions, ferment their love for musicals, and more conveniently form an atmosphere similar to frenzy. Driven by the herd mentality, many people will donate generously to DVDs and merchandise that they did not intend to buy, so the Internet is good news for niche art. Relying on the Internet, the Matthew effect of 'more more, less less' no longer exists, and their fan base can expand steadily for a long time, without slowly being lost due to the scarcity of numbers.

 And J.J.J is a niche art, her fans are now the backbone of the "CSI" audience who have seen the musical performance, and the New York musical theater lovers as the wings, although the number is not large, but they are very closely connected with each other, and even spontaneously formed a theater viewing activity, every night someone will PO on the forum to see tonight's impressions, and even compare the performance details of J.J.J in each song and even each game in several performances that the audience has seen before and after.

 This close-knit and cultistic fan culture, and the ever-growing crowd queuing at the Old Schubert Theatre every midnight to get tickets open, will of course attract the attention of the media, and Jenny's PR, Judy Ackerman, has reached out to some of New York's major gossip magazines to get them to refrain from reporting on Jenny's life story – because of Jane Ni's life experience actually doesn't have any special news points, just out of marketing strategy needs, and she herself is not the kind of big star who causes a storm in all directions, just an eye-catching newcomer, Judy's public relations has not encountered any difficulties. Everything was under control, and only this report from "American Weekly" was a surprise for them.

 "Fortunately, Weekly isn't interested enough in you for them to send a reporter to do an exclusive investigation. Judy was heard flipping through the magazine. "It's basically a reprint of the New York newspapers, and it's a description of the craze you've caused, and the pictures are very good, and it's not deliberately ugly, which is good for your popularity. "

 Indeed, perhaps considering that most of America's audience is from non-New York areas, the Weekly's report exposes the fierceness and brutality of Broadway competition in the context of Jenny's rise to power, which caused Dietrich's job as a result of her job loss, and if anyone is a harlequin in this story, it is the decision-makers of the old Schubert Theater. The report analyzes the reasons for Dietrich's loss of job in a subtle ironic tone, and recalls the remarks of some of Schubert's leaders: 'On Broadway, only the best survive', and the whole report is clearly trying to satisfy the audience's curiosity with this competition of survival of the fittest.

 The report itself was equipped with two pictures, one is a frustrated and low street, frowning and smoking Dietrich street photography, and the other is Jenny smiling and waving to the paparazzi. Dietrich's diction is: Poor silent loser, while Jenny's diction is: Now the winner, how long is it possible to win?

 Generally speaking, paparazzi photos do not deliberately take beautiful photos of celebrities, if you see paparazzi photos with an effect comparable to a fashion blockbuster, it must be a pre-contact pose. Moreover, the difference between posing and capturing is so obvious that gossip passers-by can see it at a glance, and only fans will point to the pose and shout, 'It turns out that even the capping is so beautiful'. Jenny's photo is an obvious capture, but she is young and beautiful, with a slim figure, and good taste in clothing. Judy's comment on this is, "Most people who look at these two pictures will understand why Dietrich has to get out." "

 Although the New York Post's gossip page, New York Weekly News, and New York Star all reported on the role change and interviewed Dietrich, Dietrich claimed that this was a normal job change, that her contract had expired, and that she had decided not to renew her contract with the theater based on 'personal considerations'.

 The theater also showed a tacit attitude towards this, indicating that the selection of the new Verma had been started a few months ago, but it was not announced because the interested candidate was found in Europe and the contract had not been signed.

 'So, what do you think of Jennifer Jane Jefferson?'

 Almost every story has such a suspicious question, and the intention to sow discord is simply obvious, but Dietrich did not give a bad review of Jenny, or even hinted at the reporter Jenny some unknown bad temper, but gave a surprisingly good review. "She's a very good, hard-working girl, very simple, I mean, it's hard to hate her, even if there are so many reasons, but you just can't do it. I believe she is a good friend with all the people in the troupe. "

 This is a very sincere answer, and no one can pick out anything that is unfavorable to Jenny from this sentence. Of course, as a very rare 'collaborator evaluation' at present, it was quickly posted on the discussion board, inspiring a series of emotions and praise. Now Jenny's public image is very positive, and she is known for being kind to her fans, and Dietrich's comments give her another layer of friendly hard work.

 "This is not surprising. Over lunch with her, Cesare commented, "Everything Dietrich did to you was driven by the fear of losing your job, and now that that fear has come true, you seem to have 'nothing to do with it' and just plain 'stupidly lucky.'" "

 He put two double quotation marks on the side of his ear, "Then it is only natural that she, after accepting the fact of being unemployed, feels indebted to you, and makes up for her previous behavior a little." "

 "It doesn't sound like you think Dietrich is a bad person. Jenny took a bite of pasta, it was her cereal day, Jenny allowed herself to eat a bowl of pasta, of course, the sauce was still lacking, just seasoned with salt, pepper, etc., with boiled vegetables and chicken as accompaniment.

 "Do you think she's a bad person?" Cesare asked rhetorically.

 "No, I just think she's desperate," Jenny said, "and can't help but worry about the future—if the competition at the bottom is so fierce in this circle, and the mentality of the competitors is so desperate, is it not so often fatal to compete at the top?"

 "I'm not saying that the competition for the top won't be fiercer, but the reason Dietrich will try to ruin your life for a chance to keep performing is because if she loses the role, she'll be left with nothing in the blink of an eye. Cesare took a bite of his veal steak, "Things will be different when you enter the Twenty Million Club, of course, in essence, you will still have to step on each other's blood, but this competition will be veiled with warmth, and you and your competitors may even develop a sympathetic friendship." After all, for the 20 million club, a job offer has little impact on them, and only two consecutive failed selections will shake their position. "

 Jenny couldn't help laughing, "Are you encouraging me or scaring me - even the 20 million club can only withstand two failed selections, so below the 20 million club, wouldn't the star have no chance to make a mistake?"

 "It's not a brave new world, and everyone deserves a second chance. Cesare wiped his mouth with a napkin and changed the subject. "Tonight will be the first time the new Velma has taken the stage?"

 "Yes, are you going to come and see it?" asked Jenny, "which friend will you bring with you this time?"

 After her Broadway show Chicago, she had more opportunities to meet Cesare, and whenever he came to New York on business, he would always come to the Schubert Theater to cheer on him, and of course he was never less accompanied, in most cases by well-known actors, directors, and even producers, Cesare was always promoting her, and Jeanne knew this, and in the past month she often stayed in the theater after the show, greeting Cesare's friends, and sometimes even going to the bar together. She has made some friends in the circle, but so far, he has not mentioned a new audition opportunity to her - maybe it was not the right time, maybe it was the wrong schedule, and Jenny didn't ask why.

 "I should have watched it with Agata and Robb. Cesare replied, "Maybe there will be a few friends of Agata . As far as I know, critics in New York and Los Angeles have also called to ask for tickets, and they're very curious if this new Velma can match you. "

 "In this way, the focus of the audience tonight will be on Ann. "Jenny and Ann Benson get along very well, not very close, but they are on friendly terms. For the past week, she has been rehearsing with Ann in pairs, preparing the choral repertoire. "I think they'll be satisfied, Ann's professionalism is better than Dietrich's. "

 "So, tonight you will be Dietrich. Cesare waved his hand to settle the bill, "Believe me, if you are crushed by New Velma tonight, the major columns will criticize you tomorrow, and those critics, though they are very good at you, are only because they have no choice after all." On Broadway, you're a wild girl who doesn't want to stay long, but Ann Benson is a professional and decent person, and the critic won't be a fair judge in your fight with her. You can only do your best, so good that they can't ignore it, in exchange for a relatively objective evaluation. "

 "You're really going to boost morale," Jenny said as she walked out of the dining room with him, half-jokingly, "and then you're going to offer me a spiced cigarette roll so that I can make Ann less competitive?"

 "Dietrich's mood isn't so incomprehensible now, is it?" Cesare asked rhetorically, and then he asked, "but are you confident in your performance tonight?"

 "It looks like someone has lost faith in me. Jenny commented.

 "I know Ann Benson is a great player, she's a big name in the West, and you're only trained for a short time, even if you're talented. Cesare explained briefly, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Of course I know you're good, otherwise I wouldn't have signed you." "

 - His tone implied that Jenny's excellence was a topic that didn't need to be talked about, and if Jenny even asked for a hint of praise, it would be that she was too pampered. "But even you have a limit, and Dietrich's weakness may make you more glamorous in your co-performance with Dietrich, but Ann Benson is the West End's chief Velma, and she may be more comfortable with the resources of the stage and the attention of the audience. "

 "Anyway, you just don't have faith in me," Jenny confirmed, feigning hurt and saying, "Oh, Baby, I thought we had promised to trust each other. "

 "What I'm asking now is whether you have confidence in yourself. Cesare's mood was a little unhappy, and Jenny could tell by the change in his tone and the angle of his eyebrows. Over the course of a month or so, they had seen each other enough for her to get to know him better, and to discover that Cesare was not the 'machine' she had thought. He has a slight problem with not liking people to avoid his questions over and over again.

 "You're always going to come tonight anyway. Mary drove her car, and Jeanne opened the door, turned back to Cesare, and said, "Don't you know the answer after you've seen it?"

 Cesare's eyebrows tightened, and Jenny closed the door, resisting the urge to throw him a victory kiss — for Lillian's sake, she'd been avoiding him and cutting back on any misleading gestures.

 But even so, she couldn't help but smile and wave goodbye at him, her heart filled with indescribable triumphal joy: it was the first time in this time that she had had the slightest upper hand in a conversation with Cesare.

 #

 "It was the most exciting night of the month. Ben Brantley thought so when he sat down in his place, but then corrected himself, "No, it should have been the most exciting afternoon." "

 Since all the box office was sold out half a month ago, it was impossible to squeeze out a large number of free tickets, and there were many critics who expressed interest in the premiere of Ann Benson's "Chicago", so the troupe simply arranged an additional performance on Monday afternoon, and after satisfying the demand of all critics and advertisers for free tickets, there were only a few hundred seats left in the whole show to be sold, and the view was generally not very good, but even so, the seats were sold out within hours.

 "It's a rehearsal for the Tony Awards. His old friend Patrick sat down next to Brantley, and he looked disapprenantly around the arena, "Hmph, look, Dick Scanlan, Jani Tersoni... No wonder we got more remote seats than last time. "

 Because it was an afternoon, in addition to the critics and business people with tickets from advertisers, there were also many famous Broadway actors who had been known for "Chicago" for a long time, but because of the overlapping work hours, they did not have the opportunity to come to see the show in droves. They rightfully occupied the central first seat, and Brantley and Patrice were relegated to the more remote back rows, but they were still in the first class range, which was already preferential treatment for New Yorkers, and many Los Angeles drama critics were placed in the back of the seat.

 Don't look at the drama critics who seem to be able to dedicate themselves to artistry, they have no interest in the glamorous appearance and extraordinary net worth of the stars, and they use harsh words when they needle their acting skills, and they are not merciless at all. But in fact, they are not without care, seating arrangement is something that can greatly affect the mood of film critics, if you see a critic with often conflicting views get a better position than himself, the sour energy in the critic's heart does not need to be mentioned. In the past, Brantley would have gossiped a few words with Patri about the proper seating arrangements for a few critics, but now he has no intention of doing so, and all his energy is looking forward to the performance in five minutes. On the one hand, he hoped that Ann Benson, a well-educated Orthodox student, would keep J.J. down and satisfy Brantley's hopes of preserving the traditional culture of musical theatre, but on the other hand, from the perspective of the Yankees, Brantley hoped that J.J. would maintain his limelight and make the British rein in their inexplicable self-confidence and stop looking down on Broadway artistry.

 He looked in the direction on the left-hand side, where there were a few faces who were talking in whispers, and judging by the accent, it was the critic from London who had come to see the play. It is conceivable that in this afternoon's performance, they will definitely focus on discovering Benson's bright spots, ignoring Jennifer's stellar performance, and may even take advantage of her weak resume and her own too beautiful weaknesses to hint at Broadway's shallowness in talent selection.

 The clash of loyalty and patriotism to the promotion culture on Broadway left Brantley at a loss as to whether he should hope Jennifer continue to overpower Ann Benson or the opposite. He didn't even have an idea of what to do with tomorrow's review column, as the saying goes, 'there's no such thing as a no-stand review', and Brantley just couldn't find his position right now.

 In his panic, the lights of the theater went dark, and the familiar opening music began to play the first act, and Ann Benson made her unhurried first appearance in her conversation with the theater manager.

 "Where's your sister?"

 "I'm on my own tonight. "

 The low, slow dialogue has a strong sense of rhythm in the intervals, and the first sentence alone strikes Brantley badly: her lines are strong, and Velma's pronunciation has no hint of London, speaking with a pure American accent, which is not easy for a newcomer to the British. Judging from this sentence alone, Ann Benson is a professional actor who should not be underestimated.

 Soon, with Velma's debut, Brantley confirmed that Ann Benson's professionalism was one of the best on Broadway.

 Dietrich had already performed quite well in her first solo dance, she was an excellent dancer, although her appearance was mediocre and her voice was not very good among blacks, but she was better in dancing with power, and her singing voice was generous and powerful, her Velma was full of power, and in the era without Jennifer, it was enough to deter the audience and make them ignore Velma's looks and acting skills.

 But Ann Benson is a different style of performer entirely, her Velma is full of compulsion, her eyes are always looking at the audience throughout the dance, her expression is full of confidence, showing a sense of initiative of the 'beautiful leopard' to choose people and devour, but compared to Dietrich, first, Ann is more beautiful, and second, her Velma is more coquettish.

 The angle and gesture of the hand over the body, a wink at the viewer, the angle of the mouth open... Her dancing sexual suggestion is stronger, and under her interpretation, Velma is no longer a strong female warrior, but closer to the original character, more like a popular dancer who is willing to flirt with the audience, is sophisticated and at ease.

 When the first solo was over, in the brief gap between the changing scenes and the lights, Patrice leaned over and whispered to Brantley, "I can't help but say, this time, she's got a strong enemy." "

 Brantley had read his report and knew that Patrice had taken J.J. as his goddess, and now even he could not help but admit that Ann Benson had posed a threat to Jennifer.

 "Who's the first heroine of Chicago?" he used the wrong word again—after all, as a critic, Brantley had barely seen the show in the afternoon. But neither he nor Patrick cared about it, and he swallowed excitedly, "Looks like there's a good show to watch tonight." "

 The author has something to say: Note: 1 The gossip magazines mentioned in this chapter are all true, the most famous of which is "US Weekly", which is a best-selling gossip information magazine along with "People" and "In touch", and in 2014 there were TMZ and some gossip blogs and communities, but in 2002, it was still the world of magazines.

 2 Ann Benson is a fictional character, while Dick Scanlan and Jane Tersoni are real people, both winners of the 2002 Tony Award